Slovaks, Dutch Level at 1-1 in Davis Cup QuartersPosted on July 16, 2005 The visiting Dutch came out of day one in their Davis Cup tie at the Slovak Republic with a 1-1 tie thanks to the heroics of emerging fast-court specialist Peter "Nuclear" Wessels, who came from 1-2 sets down to defeat Slovak Karol Beck 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2 on Friday.
"It is fair to say that Karol is very tired right now and we have to evaluate his condition with the rest of the team and see tomorrow what the doubles pairing will be," Slovak captain Miloslav Mecir said. In the first match, Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty put the Slovaks out front with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win over Dutchman "Everybody Loves" Raemon Sluiter, who suffered during the match with a wrist problem. "It (cramp) started at 3-1 when I hit a forehand slice with one hand and I felt a little click in my wrist," Sluiter said. "It wasn't too bad but it was followed by cramps in my hand and then a couple of games later cramps in my legs." In the lowest-wattage tie of the four World Group quarterfinals, the Dutch are happy with their place in the elite group without a top player after the retirement of Wimbledon winner Richard Krajicek. To keep competitive the Dutch dragged 39-year-old Paul Haarhuis out of retirement, partnering with Wessels to likely face Beck and Michal Mertinak on Saturday. |
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